GRAND RAPIDS -- In three weeks, Steve Benner heads to Las Vegas. But this trip isn't about chips and The Strip.

It's high-stakes gambling with a retail edge.

He has four days to land important retailers for his planned $60 million lifestyle center on East Beltline Avenue NE.

"We want to come back with a dozen or more deals," said the Grand Rapids developer of the proposed Village at Knapp's Crossing.

Thousands of retailers and developers flock to the International Council of Shopping Centers' annual convention, but Benner's most important competition in landing retailers is by the project proposed just a mile north on the East Beltline.

The $100 million, 400,000-square-foot Village of Orchard Hills is proposed by a trio of developers, including CBL & Associates Properties Inc. of Chattanooga, Tenn.; Robert B. Aikens & Associates of Birmingham; and local developer Kevin Einfeld of BDR Inc.

While both groups say their projects could co-exist, most observers believe only one will emerge as a lifestyle center, the latest retail trend built on an open-air format of upscale stores and green space.

Despite Benner's attempts to derail his competition, Orchard Hills may be in the better position heading to Las Vegas. It has township approval in hand and an experienced development team with national connections.

But after three and a half years, Benner is closing in on final approval for his 300,000-square-foot development.

He scored a victory last week when Spartan Stores Inc. decided to locate its D&W Fresh Market there, switching from Village of Orchard Hills.

The drive-by traffic is better at Benner's site, a Spartan official said.

But Benner, who won preliminary site approval in February from the City of Grand Rapids, still has some government hurdles in front of him.

His site plan has yet to be approved by the city Planning Commission, which last week tabled its vote until May 8.

Two potential competitors suffered setbacks recently. The anchor of a proposed Walker lifestyle center, Cabela's outdoor gear chain, delayed its project at least a year, and Centerpointe Mall scaled back plans for a major overhaul.

Bucking the economy

Like Benner, Orchard Hills developers are counting on Las Vegas to move their project forward.

Construction has been pushed back to spring 2009 after a potential anchor delayed its commitment.

Blame it on the economy.

"It's not a situation only in Grand Rapids. It's what is going on in retail generally," said Jim Fielder, vice president of Robert B. Aikens & Associates.

Odds of doing well in Las Vegas might have been better last year.

The retail climate has deteriorated in the past few months. Retailers are closing stores and declaring bankruptcy under mounting debt and sagging sales.

What's tougher than selling retail space in a down economy? Try a location in Michigan, mired for years in its own one-state recession.

When people think of Michigan, Detroit and its struggles come to mind first.

"Grand Rapids, versus Detroit, is sort of the other Michigan because of the growth and what has happened," Fielder said. "I think for a long time it's been a market that has been overlooked."

When he is selling the area, he brings up the billion-dollar investment in Grand Rapids' Medical Mile, Michigan State University's medical school locating here and a JW Marriott hotel downtown.

"It shows not only you have investment but the type of investment," said Fielder, who has set his sights on attracting retailers who will be new to West Michigan.

Fielder said people often are surprised when he tells them the greater Grand Rapids area has more than 55,000 college students.

Medical facilities and educational institutions generally are located in growth areas, one of the many factors retailers consider when identifying new markets.

Other factors include household income, types of jobs, education levels, average age, house values and unemployment levels.

Orchard Hills developers tout their location with a brochure entitled "Shopping sophistication. It's what we know."

Prospects are told about the site in the "affluent" Grand Rapids Township, surrounded by "exclusive hamlets" of Ada, Cascade, East Grand Rapids, Forest Hills and Rockford.

The area's more than 300,000 households have an average income of $73,334, the brochure notes.

The brochure also describes this area as Michigan's fastest growing and one of the top 100 fastest growing regions in the United States.

Developers patterned Orchard Hills after their successful Village of Rochester Hills, one of the first lifestyle centers in the state.

Courtesy Photo The Village of Rochester Hills was one of the first lifestyle centers in Michigan and served as a model for Village of Orchard Hills.

The Grand Rapids area has the spending power of the Rochester Hills market, the developers say.

Showing a strong economic base is more important than ever because retailers are choosier about locations.

"When the economy is struggling, real estate decisions become more important," said Ellen Davis, senior director at the National Retail Federation.

Racing to the finish line

Seen as the evolution of the shopping mall, West Michigan's first lifestyle center is likely to be Village at Knapp's Crossing or Village of Orchard Hills.

But in the end, there is likely to be only one.

While developers downplay their race to finish their developments, the competition's intensity has been obvious since both projects launched in fall 2004.

First announced was Benner's project, envisioned as an open-air mall with a department store, drug store, restaurants and clothing boutiques. After years of developing and managing strip malls, Benner was ready to step up to a large-scale retail project.

He opted for lifestyle centers because the open-air retail centers are less expensive to operate than a mall, and he could offer leases for substantially less. Benner looked at more than a dozen sites before settling on a 33-acre former apple orchard across from Celebration Village.

A month later, plans were announced for the Village of Orchard Hill on 72 acres at Three Mile Road NE and East Beltline. Township zoning requires mixed uses, and Orchard Hill features almost 400,00 square feet of retail connected to 156 condominiums.

Fireworks heated up between both sides during the summer of 2005. James Pawlak -- Benner's uncle and the company's vice president -- was revealed to be the leader of a petition drive for a ballot referendum to overturn rezoning for the Village of Orchard Hills.

Benner makes no apologies for supporting the two referendums.

"We needed to do what we did for competition reasons," said Benner, who was trying to slow down Orchard Hills.

The other side had its own political moves.

What appeared to be a "grassroots" ad campaign to defeat the petition drive was led by a public relations firm hired by developers of Village of Orchard Hills.

After the two referendums and the township spending a year writing a lifestyle-center ordinance, the Village of Orchard Hills was first to win final approval last month.

"What is good about the project is the quality and the developer's track record of doing quality projects," said Michael DeVries, township supervisor.

That's important, DeVries said, because the development will sit at the township's gateway, near Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Cornerstone University and Kuyper College.

Last May, Village of Orchard Hills got a national developer when CBL acquired a 50 percent interest. One of the largest real estate investment trusts in the country, CBL owns or manages 162 malls or shopping centers.

Benner is adamant about doing his development without partners. His location across from Celebration Village and the Knapp's Corner Meijer store gives him the edge over the expertise and financial backing of Orchard Hills' developers, he believes.

Spartan Stores proved Benner's point when it switched its new D&W Fresh Market to Knapp's Crossing, Two years ago, it announced its intent to go into Orchard Hills.

The Byron Township grocer had been in talks with both developers in recent years, according to spokeswoman Jeanne Norcross. But it decided on Knapp's Crossing after Benner received preliminary approval from the city in February.

"It's on a major intersection, and we think it's a better location," Norcross said.

Benner's lack of experience has hurt him. For three years, he has tussled with the city. The project has been killed and revived a few times.

The chief complaint is that his project was more akin to a strip mall than a small downtown. He made several revisions, including adding a main street with stores facing each other.

He already is looking down the road to developing an additional 150,000 square feet on his property that falls in Grand Rapids Township.

If things go well in Las Vegas, work on the next phase could begin in a year or so.